ISLAMABAD : Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday that saving unarmed Kashmiris from the oppression of Indian forces is a challenge posed by the Modi government to the whole world.

“Modi has challenged the world, the way he has aggressively taken over control of Kashmir,” Shehbaz said, while addressing the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Assembly.

He said Pakistan will have to move past “empty rhetoric” and fight for Kashmir with practical steps.

“We will have to expose India before the world at the diplomatic level,” he added.

The PML-N leader said that the abrogation of Article 370 by India on August 5, 2019, was a “tragedy” for the region.

Earlier in his speech, Shehbaz thanked the AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider for inviting the opposition to Muzaffarabad.

The visit comes two days after Prime Minister Imran Khan visited the region’s capital to show solidarity with Kashmiris on Youm-e-Istehsal.

Youm-e-Istehsal was marked in Pakistan and all over the world on Wednesday to observe the one-year anniversary of August 5, 2019, when the Indian government illegally annexed occupied Kashmir into two union territories by revoking Article 370 of its constitution.